Amazon Widens Free Shipping to All Customers, With No Minimum, for Holidays
Amazon responded Monday to jabs from competitors Target and Walmart that they are implementing free shipping for the holiday season, with no membership required, by opening free shipping to its non-Prime members for the season. Amazon’s non-Prime members previously had…
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to spend $25 to get free shipping, but now all Amazon customers will have access to free shipping “on orders that will arrive in time for Christmas,” said Doug Herrington, Amazon senior vice president-North American retail. Free shipping is available on “hundreds of millions” of items to all Amazon shoppers, but only Prime members are assured of the two-day time frame. Prime members also will get free same-day delivery on more than 3 million items: Those who place an order in the morning will receive eligible same-day orders “before bedtime” -- even on Sundays, it said, not specifying its customers’ bedtime. Prime members, who pay $119 annually or $12.99 per month for membership, were bumped up to one-hour delivery from Whole Foods Market in 60 markets, Amazon said. Consumers can expect free shipping deals from all the major retailers before and after Black Friday. Best Buy brought back free delivery for the holiday season with no minimum purchase or membership required (see 1810300041), and it’s offering same-day shipping on select products, for a fee, ordered before 3 p.m. local time (2 p.m. on Sunday). Best Buy's offers run through Dec. 25. Target also announced free two-day shipping to all customers on “hundreds of thousands” of products, no minimum purchase required. Walmart last month announced two-day shipping for “millions” of items through its marketplace sellers for the holiday season (see 1810230049), and it's making it easier for customers to return items sold by marketplace sellers, enabling shoppers to print a shipping label from home and bring it to a Walmart store for return beginning mid-month.